The Little Librarian and the Big Bad Wolf (Part 1)
by teapaahty
Summary: Set two days after Child of the Moon. Ruby bumps into an emotionally charged Belle and gets a bit more than she bargained for. *Part two is written and just needs to be typed. It will begin right where this one ends, but in Belle's POV. **This is my first fic ever. So, please overload me with critiques and comments! Go ahead and be harsh, I can take it**
1. The Big Bad Wolf

**Fandom: Once Upon A Time**

**Pairing: Red Beauty **

**Romance**

**Rating: M for Coarse Language and Sexual Themes**

**Word Length: 1279**

**Summary: Two days after Child of the Moon. Ruby bumps into an emotionally charged Belle and gets a bit more than she bargained for. **

Part One (of Two): The Little Librarian and the Big Bad Wolf

You've been somewhere between asleep and dead for the past day and a half. Honestly, you deserved it. Locking up the "beast" inside of you for twenty-eight years had inspired a lot of built up tension. The immense release that you experienced during your most recent wolf's time had left you physically and emotionally drained. Surprisingly, you managed to assemble an outfit that makes you look slightly less disheveled than you feel— a pair of comfy jeans, which feature a rather recent rip over the left knee that hints at their age, and an a pale blue button-down that you threw over a white tank top that stops just short of your waist, revealing a sliver of your flat, toned stomach. Considering you only left the comfort of your bed to replenish a day and a half's worth of calories at Granny's, you didn't think it was necessary to dress to impress.

With every intention of returning to your bedroom and curling back up in a pile of pillows and blankets, you say goodnight to Granny and head out into the cool fall night. A light breeze blows past you as you glance down the street towards the library. The smell of old books with the trace of sweet tea fills your brain and sends a shiver down your spine. The events from two days ago surge through your memory and interrupt your previous state of blissful ignorance.

_Shit. Belle._

Belle had put her trust in you. She saw the good in you that others (including yourself) could not. For God sakes, the woman was going to risk her life just to make sure you wouldn't have to be alone in your darkest hour. Then, as usual, you fucked it up. You hurt the only person you were trying to protect.

Although the thought of Belle in chains makes you take a deep, satisfying breath. It also reminds you that, like all the other important people in Belle's life, you used her trust, goodwill, and naivety against her and locked her up. You took away her freedom to choose her own fate. Granted, your intentions were to keep her safe, you are now realizing that Belle is not some damsel in distress— she is more than that. She's your _savior_.

You must have been more preoccupied than you had realized because not many people are able to sneak up on you. Nevertheless, in your post-wolf hangover, you must have allowed yourself to drift away from reality. When a guttural instinct finally implores you to look up, you become immediately inert, paralyzed by surprise.

There she is—twenty feet away, just glaring at you. The wind blew at her back and your spine reactively stiffened to attention as the scent of books, sweet tea, and lavender washed over you. A thousand images of her smiling and laughing flash through your mind.

You open your mouth and let out a small, "He—"

"Don't! Don't even." Her glare sharpens and her mouth pulls into a tight line. She turns on her heel as she tries to make a quick escape.

You catch up to her almost instantly. Stepping in front of her, you have to backpedal as her furious stomps proceed forward.

You have no idea where to start or what to say so, you just stare desperately at her. But she is trying hard not to acknowledge you, glancing back and forth between the shops on either side of the road and the pavement beneath your feet. When she looks past you, you notice how tightly her jaw is clenched and her how delicate hands have now crumpled into a tense fist.

_Jesus. _You think to yourself, _Maybe it's a librarian thing, but this girl knows how to make silence terrifying. _You feel a smile tug at the right corner of your mouth and immediately make an effort to hide it from the already fuming Belle. This is hardly an appropriate time to jest. As you work to cover up your fleeting amusement, Belle stops in her tracks. For the first time since the start of your quarter-mile walk, she finally looks at you with her icy glare sustained. You swear you feel the wolf release a low growl as you appreciate how different— no, _sexy_— Belle looks when she is angry. That's when she punches you right where your collarbone meets your left shoulder.

"Ow! Fuck— ah, I mean… I guess I deserve that."

The tiny woman lunges forward and hits you again. This time, she connects with the outside of your left arm, granting an instant Charlie-horse.

You can't help but laugh at how surprisingly hard Belle hits. You cough out a "…and that too." However, your laughter quickly ceases when you see her face. The icy glare is gone. Instead, her brows are pulled together and raised just above the bridge of her nose, and her chin is pulled upwards, forcing the corners of her mouth into a soft frown. Those punches were nothing compared to the pain that surges through you as you acknowledge Belle's sadness that was no longer hidden by an angry façade. When she sees the way you are looking at her, she lifts her hands to cover her face. Her delicate hands muffle a small whimper.

"I never meant hurt you," you think you say aloud.

Suddenly, Belle crumples under her weight. You instinctively step forward, reaching out to catch her before she falls very far. Wrapping your arms around the smaller woman, you pull her into an embrace that supports her petite frame. For a moment, she is completely motionless and you begin think that she might have fainted. But after a few seconds of stillness and worry, you feel her shift her weight against your body, throw her arms around your neck, and sob into your chest.

All you can do is repeat, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry," neurotically as Belle's hot tears begin to fall on your skin and soak your shirt. An immeasurable amount of time passes as you hold her against your chest, trying to absorb all her pain and sadness with your embrace.

"I'm sor—" you start again, but you are interrupted as you feel Belle pull her face out from the collar of your button-down.

You look at her in anticipation of her next emotional outburst. Yet, this time, she doesn't look sad— instead, her face has relaxed into a display of concentration and concern. Even when tainted by redness from crying, her blue-green eyes are mesmerizing as they search yours for a moment.

Without thinking, you stoop your head down towards hers. Hesitating a fraction of an inch away from her lips, you notice a glint of light reflecting on her skin. Distractedly, you shift slightly and crane your neck to gently kiss the last remnant of tears off her cheek. You pull back slowly, savoring the moment before Belle will undoubtedly slap you across the face and run into town screaming about the predatory lesbian kissing emotionally unstable girls.

But before you can pull away from her, you feel a cool, delicate hand slide up your shoulder and settle behind the nape of your neck, stopping you from retreating further. The wolf surges through your skin as the tense proximity between you and Belle is finally closed.


	2. The Little Librarian

Pairing: Red Beauty

Romance

Rating: T – M for Coarse Language and Sexual Themes

Word Length: 1216

Summary: Ruby tastes like maple syrup and coffee. And her body is radiating a magnetic heat in the cool fall breeze. You don't really know how you got here, but you are certain of one thing— you don't want to leave. *Picks up immediately after Part One, but from Belle's POV.*

The Little Librarian and the Big Bad Wolf (Part Two)

Ruby tastes like maple syrup and coffee. And her body is radiating a magnetic heat in the cool, fall breeze. You don't really know how you got here, but you are certain of one thing— you don't want to leave. Practically falling into her lips, you experience a massive expulsion of stress, which manifests as a cascade of Goosebumps across your skin. It feels like you have been liberated from the seemingly endless onslaught of expectations, duplicity, and disappointment that you have experienced in this world, or the last.

Prompted by a gentle bite on your top lip, you part your lips and allow Ruby to deepen the kiss. This is much better than any of your secret daydreams, which you tend to fall into while watching Ruby work during your lunch breaks at Granny's. The taller woman takes advantage of your willing lips and deepens the kiss by slipping her tongue gingerly across yours. A low moan escapes from your chest, the vibration races to your lips and runs straight through Ruby's. It feels like tiny, painless sparks dancing on your flesh.

In an effort to move deeper into the heat of the kiss, you shift your hand slightly from the back of Ruby's neck to cradle her jaw. But the heat of her skin against your hand is unexpectedly warm. Reactively, you retreat from the kiss to inspect the source of your surprise.

Ruby elicits an audible whine upon separation from your lips. She opens her eyes with her brows furrowed in disappointment. Fleetingly, you catch her irises reflect a golden yellow before returning to their usual pale blue— or are they green? It's impossible to pay attention when she looks at you.

"You are burning up," you whisper.

Her eyes flick upwards from their concentration on your mouth to meet your own in an epiphanic gaze. Ruby's eyes widen as she steps back, causing your hands to fall, empty, to your sides. You feel yourself frown at the loss of her proximity and heat. You recall the coldness of the chains on your wrist two days ago, when you thought that you had seen Ruby for the last time.

"Shit!" She spins away from you, raising her hands above her head and running one through her hair. "Shit! Shit-fuck!" You hear her mutter. She's halfway through stammering out another chain of curse words when she notices that you are laughing uncontrollably. She whirls back around to look at you. Her left eyebrow shoots upwards as she cocks her head to the side like a confused puppy.

When you manage to gain some control over your amusement, you half giggle, "I—I have never," a burst of laughter escapes your lips but you suppress it to continue, "I've never heard such language." In fact, you've read everything from Descartes to Shakespeare to J.K. Rowling, but never have you experienced such exquisite word choice. _Shit-fuck_, you muse, _Where does one find such eloquence?_ A few more giggles escape your body before you notice Ruby's distress. "What's wrong?" you prompt.

"You should be pissed at me!" she exclaims as desperately as if she is telling you that the sky is falling. Her confliction is clear as she searches your eyes frantically. "You should hate me," she appears to shrink as she speaks, "you trusted me and I _betrayed_ you. I locked you up like you were some sort of possession!" Ruby's voice strains as she looks away from you and focuses on the ground, revealing a single tear forming in the corner of her left eye. Quickly wiping it away, she murmurs, "I just didn't want to lose you too."

Her voice reverberates in your mind for a moment. As you process the woman's words, you can't help but ogle at her beauty, which is stunning even amidst her clear emotional distress. Studying her face, you decide that her sharp, angular features and her soft, deep eyes emphasize her wild but kind nature. And never have you experienced someone so entrancingly sincere.

You step closer to her, prompting her to stand up tall in order to maintain eye contact. Her brows are pulled together in a display of confusion and concentration— you can't stand how troubled she looks. You reach out and hook a piece of her soft, black hair behind her ear, letting your hand linger on her collarbone afterwards. "Then," you speak as softly as you can, "I won't let you lose me." You smile up at her before you seal your promise with a light kiss at the base of her jaw, where it meets her long and supple neck. Feeling the tiny hairs on the back of her neck stand up on edge, you smile as she breathes you in.

Within an instant, you are off your feet.

Ruby has her warm and supportive arms behind your knees and cradling your back as she scoops you up in a swift exhibition of strength and grace. She looks down at you with what you can only delineate as a wolfish grin. You can feel your whole body pulse lightly as a state of transcending awareness washes over you. You _want_ her. Akin to no one else, you crave to be close to this beautiful wild-woman. An uncontrollably wide smile takes over your face, which causes Ruby to rumble with a quiet laughter. "Well, if that's the case, will you _let_ me walk you home?"

Like an adolescent swooning over their first love, you giggle into her chest, throwing your arms around her neck. Reflecting on the scene, you can't help but make a mental allusion to a few of the fairy-tales and love stories that you've read since you began reopening the library. But caught up in the moment, you tease, "only if you promise not to leave." You feel Ruby's body hum as she lets out a mischievous growl.

_Oops_.

Her grip on your body tightens as she suddenly lurches forward; propelling you through the cool, fall air.

Once you notice that you have stopped moving, you open your eyes to find yourself on your own two feet again and at the entrance to your apartment above the library. You look up at Ruby baffled and still slightly dizzy from your "walk" home. She just gives you that same wolfish smile.

"Well, should I huff, and puff, and blow the door down?" She winks seductively, but bursts out with laughter shortly after, clearly proud of her pun. You try not to laugh as you shake your head in mock disapproval. "My, my, what bad jokes you have…" you taunt as you slip your hand around Ruby's wrist, push open the door, and lead her upstairs. You smile to yourself as it crosses your mind that, tonight, you really wouldn't mind being chained up by Ruby.


	3. Good Morning

**The Little Librarian and the Big Bad Wolf (Part 3)**

**Pairing: Red Beauty**

**Romance**

**Rating: T-M (Sexual Themes)**

**Word Count: 755**

"Mmmm…" a low whine slips from lips as you stir from your deep sleep, the morning sunlight becoming too intense to ignore. But as you attempt to roll over and away from the sun's intrusion, you notice an unusual weight on your chest. You lazily open your left eye just a bit to inspect the cause of your immobility. Looking down, you can only see a tangle of golden-brown hair strewn across your left should and chest until your eyes can better adjust to the light of the sun-drenched bedroom.

Last night comes to the forefront of your still-drowsy mind as memories flash and rush over you. The look of apprehension and desire in Belle's eyes as you stepped toward her; the sexy moan that escaped her mouth when you picked her up, her legs wrapping around your waist; the adorable laughter that rumbled through her body as you tripped over every book, chair, and coffee table in her dark house as you carried her towards her bedroom; the softness of her white sheets as you laid her down on the plush queen-size bed; the taste of every inch of her supple skin.

You breathe in a deep, satisfied breath, causing your whole chest to rise involuntarily. Belle's left arm tightens around your waist as she squeezes you close.

"Ruby…" she murmurs sweetly. She props herself up gently onto her side so that she can look up at you. You can feel your heart flutter and swell as you look into her eyes, which look like sparkling sapphires when the light hits them. They crinkle at their outer edge as she smiles up at you, resting her chin on your chest.

"Hi," you say before smiling back at her. She beams back at you for a second before she slides up your body and plants a gentle kiss on your ready lips.

"Hi," she says sweetly.

When she pulls away, she hovers over you and her soft golden-brown curls fall like a curtain around her face. You reach out and hook a few locks behind her right ear so you can see her better. Your eyes search each other's for a moment, as if you were both trying to remember every detail of this moment.

Finally, she speaks, "I could stay like this forever…"

You smile and reply, "I agree, I think I could live out the rest of my life here in this bed with you. What do you think?"

"Sure!" She giggles when she speaks. "We would only need to leave it for a few minutes every day, you know, just to eat."

As if it had a mind of its own, your stomach lets out a low grumble in response to the prospect of food. You lift your right hand and point down at your stomach as if to scold a mischievous puppy, "Oh now, shush, belly. You are ruining the moment." You roll your eyes, "Honestly, I don't know where her manners are."

Belle throws her head back, flipping her gorgeous hair over her shoulder, as she laughs at your pathetic joke. You awe at the loveliness of the simple action. When she glances back at you, you are just starring at her. "What?" she inquires, "Why are you starring at me?"

"Ruby, wha—," she starts again before you silence her with a kiss.

You pull away for just an instant to say, "Because you are the loveliest thing I have ever seen." You kiss her more deeply this time. Without breaking the kiss, you slide your arm around her back and cradle her close to you as you roll over so that she is now underneath you. You leave a trail of kisses down her throat and across her collarbone causing her breaths to quicken and her back to arch as she presses her hips into yours.

"I thought you were hungry…," she moans between breaths.

You suspend the onslaught of kisses for a moment and let a wolfish grin take over your face as you look at her and say coolly, "Yeah, but I think I know exactly what I want to eat…" Blood rushes to her cheeks as she blushes and rolls her eyes, trying not to smile but failing miserably. Still grinning, you reach out and cradle her jaw gently in your left hand. As your eyes meet, her smile and shining blue eyes slip into a more serious gaze.

"I love you, Ruby Lucas." She whispers before the distance between you is closed once again.


End file.
